First flu cases of the season confirmed in Latvia
Laboratory tests have confirmed the first three influenza cases of the season in Latvia, with one patient already hospitalized due to complications. Doctors warn the virus began circulating earlier than usual and urge risk groups to consider vaccination.
Virological testing in Latvia has confirmed the first three influenza cases of this season, indicating that the flu virus has begun circulating earlier than usual. A patient with flu-related complications is already being treated at the Riga East University Hospital's inpatient facility, the Latvian Centre of Infectious Diseases. Professor Baiba Rozentāle, the facility's chief physician, says this season's flu epidemic could also start earlier than normal.
Last season's data point to serious risks
From October 2025 through May 2026, Riga East Hospital treated 582 hospitalized flu patients, of whom 46 died. For 357 patients, flu was the primary diagnosis; for 223, it was a secondary diagnosis; and in two cases it appeared as a complication. Most cases occurred during winter months: 133 in December, 158 in January, 126 in February, and 112 in March.
The disease hit older people especially hard — 250 patients were aged 60 to 79, and 197 were 80 or older, meaning more than three-quarters of all hospitalized patients were over 60. The most severe outcomes occurred among patients whose flu led to pneumonia: of 202 such cases, 30 patients died, a mortality rate of about 15%.
Vaccination urged
Rozentāle stresses that flu can be far more serious than a fever and general malaise, and that vaccination significantly reduces the risk of severe illness. Risk groups include people aged 60 and older, those with chronic heart, lung, kidney or liver disease, diabetics, and people with weakened immune systems, including cancer and transplant patients, those with HIV, and people on immunosuppressive therapy. Healthcare workers and social care staff are also considered at risk.
Per World Health Organization recommendations, risk groups should get vaccinated in October and November. The higher-concentration vaccine for people 60 and older is expected in early October, while vaccines for other groups are expected in early November. State-funded risk groups will not need a referral from their family doctor, while others will be able to get vaccinated for a fee.
